


Jimin Becomes an (Unwilling) Demigod Ghostbuster

by accki



Series: Half-Blood Chronicles [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Demigods, Light Angst, M/M, Quests, au- pjo fusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29693565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/accki/pseuds/accki
Summary: So. Jimin usually sees spirits in his dreams and around camp (perks of being the son of Hades) but this one actually speaks to him and knows his name. Cool, not creepy at all. His booty call finally reappeared at camp after a year of MIA, that's fine too. Now, all he has to do is travel to some supposedly haunted (although unconfirmed) nursery or garden center and who knows, tickle a gnome's balls? Perfectly fine. Just another summer job.
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin, Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin
Series: Half-Blood Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2182140
Kudos: 6





	Jimin Becomes an (Unwilling) Demigod Ghostbuster

**Author's Note:**

> Helloooo welcome to this random idea I had a few months ago at some ungodly hour~  
> The extent of beta-ing it's had is me re-reading it, so please excuse any weird phrasing/mistakes  
> Relationships in this are open unless otherwise stated, so don't worry no one is cheating lol
> 
> Thank you to my friend Dre for the art at the beginning/end, and for helping proofread this! 
> 
> This is dedicated to my muse, who got to hear me ramble for over a month nonstop about how excited I was to write this and send it to her. I hope it lives up to the hype I've created~ happy birthday, i love you!! <3 <3 <3
> 
> I hope you all enjoy! Let me know if you think any tags need to be added~

\---

Jimin hated the Hades cabin. Sure, it doesn’t really fit his style with the punk aesthetic and whole ‘death’ vibe, but it was just downright creepy. The beds were fine, he had plenty of storage space with Nico keeping most of his meager stuff in one dusty corner, but- _man_ , it’s a tryhard’s kind of cabin! Jimin felt like he should walk out in black robes, sleep-deprived and carrying a scythe. It was just too much.

He could also blame the fact that he couldn’t sleep alone on his hate. For as long as he could remember, when he slept alone he was plagued by spirits that weren’t aware they were dead. Most of the time they were young, but he was always terrified he would see a friend one day. When he was a kid, he would climb in between his mom’s old threadbare sheets, falling asleep with her exhausted form behind his. Now, he preferred sleeping crushed in between Jungkook and Taehyung in a mess of blankets and pillows near the bonfire pits on the sandy beach. When it would get cold out though, they would solemnly return to their cabins, but the warm summer nights made even warmer by the nearby fire and two large bodies were the only ways Jimin could sleep comfortably.

As peaceful as that thought was, it didn’t get rid of the ghostly figures hanging around, especially in the cabin. The one that has been here longer than him is starting to lose its face, and he honestly had no clue how Nico or even Hazel managed to spend longer than a few minutes in here without being thoroughly unsettled.

So that’s how he got here, a small analog clock ticking quietly past three am, and more restless than tired. He hated it. The ceiling of the cabin wasn’t any more interesting than anything else he could look at now, and he knew that if he tried to sleep he would see something. And, if he wouldn’t see anything, he would be pinned down by some fearful sleep paralysis monster. He had half a mind to get up and knock on the Ares or Hermes cabin for Jungkook or Taehyung, but he knew he would be met with a mess of sleeping bodies, items thrown in aggressive sleepiness, or both. Jimin would like to keep his head tonight, so he just laid in his bed.

He could only lay there for so long before he got antsy again, and he could swear that there were some skulls somewhere staring holes into him, so without further thought he got up. Wandering around camp at three am alone in the dark wasn’t creepy, right? He was a son of Hades so it was almost fitting, right? He threw on his jacket that had been haphazardly discarded on an empty bed, finding his tennis shoes somewhere at the front of the door of the cabin. Old habits die hard.

When he left the cabin, it wasn’t nearly as dark as he anticipated. Sure, the pillars of Greek fire were burning at the front of the cabin per usual, but even past that it was bright. Must’ve been a full moon, or he somehow developed some super sight. That’d be cool, as unlikely as it was. A confused spirit hung around the front of the cabin, reaching out slowly as he left. He called that one “Susan”, he hoped he wasn’t being offensive.

Jimin glanced around the curve of the cabins, a peaceful quiet sitting steadily over the camp. The chill was bearable, somehow, yet when the wind would blow by it still stung enough to force Jimin to shove his hands into his pockets, shoulders coming up to protect the reddening of his nose to the bite. Maybe he shouldn’t have decided to go on a brisk walk now, but he was out here and to some extent done up, it would just make him stay up longer. So, walk he did.

It was somehow, almost magically, getting colder as he walked. No proof, just a vibe, and Jimin was really missing those bonfire sleepovers. He pulled his hood up, tightening it enough to trick himself into it working, and walked along one side of the curve of cabins. Habit to go by and listen if anyone else was awake and restless, but silence was all he was met with. No surprise. He hunkered his head down, continuing to walk forward as if he were braving a snowstorm. Man, his blood was too thin for this. Curse growing up in Nevada, honestly.

Mindless was the best way to experience this walk, numb slowly moving from the outside in. If he was lucky, he’d get back to his cabin a frozen exhausted mess, giving himself enough time to rip his shoes off and curl up tightly under his blankets. He tried to not ever think what he would do if he wasn’t lucky, maybe throw himself in the lake and let hypothermia knock him out. One could hope. The general glow from the cabins faded behind him as he walked towards the beach, eyes tracking how the grass melted into stone, and gradually sand. As he walked, he could see more spirits hanging around, bodies appearing more solid as there was less firelight shining through them.

Usually, in these walks, he would be alone. Scratch that, he was always alone. No one else in their right minds would be up this early when it was this cold, so he was rightfully taken back by seeing the glow of a fire in one of the bonfire pits. Small, sure, but there. That’s a problem.

His hands still clenched and burrowed deep into his jacket pockets didn’t help with his speed, but he was able to walk as fast as possible, a weird huddled figure, to whatever was going on at the beach. If it was some of the younger kids again, he was going to go insane. Absolutely insane, clinically so. They would randomly get the urge to get out at ass o’clock and ‘rebel’, make memories that were undoubtedly pleasant until they all woke up a sniffling mess the next day. Jimin could not wait to find these kids and give them a good scare, enough to make them absolutely freak-

 _Oh._ Huh. It wasn’t a mess of kids, rather one person, sitting with his head bent down over his guitar, platinum blonde hair hanging over his face as the small fire lit his guitar just enough to be visible. Jimin stopped in his tracks, realizing the sand made him approach silently. Or it was just his walk, he never knew. The guy was strumming quietly, murmuring something, and was focused so intently Jimin wasn’t sure if another Minotaur breaking into camp would tear him away from it.

Jimin shuffled awkwardly, feeling almost as if he walked in on two people sharing an intimate moment. This felt wrong, and he had half a mind to turn around and go back to bed if only the fire was so warm. He wasn’t even standing too close, and yet the combination of the quiet guitar, the quiet singing, and warm fire, well… Well. That was it.

Jimin cleared his throat, expecting whoever was sitting there to look up, but they didn’t. Jimin huffed, eventually sitting down on a bench opposite of the other man, and watched. The fire was warm enough that he slowly reached out with his frozen hands, wiggling his fingers to try and coax some warmth into his body.

“Hey Jimin. What’s up.” A gruff voice, deeper than what should have fit a man with such sleek features. His hands still looked right on the guitar, like he was born to hold it, but it had been long enough that Jimin had almost forgotten-

“Yoongi?!” A deep laugh, he obviously hadn’t been talking, rather sitting here with his guitar in freezing silence for too long. “You’re joking, seriously?! When did you dye your hair again??”

Yoongi grinned lopsidedly, in an _I won’t tell you_ kind of way, and simply looked back down to his guitar to keep playing. Jimin sat with his mouth open, hands still outstretched to the fire, finally bringing them up to his own face to warm his freezing cheeks.

“I cannot believe you, when were you going to come say hi to me again?? When did you get back?” Whatever he was playing on the guitar was nice. Was it a new song? “I didn’t recognize you, wasn’t your hair black last time you were here?”

Yoongi huffed out something that was an agreement but also a non-committal sound, staying in his middle ground per usual. His guitar was still as spotless as ever, but this time with some sort of white charm hanging off the top. Jimin had gotten up, shuffling closer to Yoongi and his guitar. It felt like having to push two lovers apart, cruel and horrifying but he had missed Yoongi too much to have to stay on the other bench, miles away. Across the fire, he saw one of the spirits sit down where he was just a moment ago, slowly reaching up with outstretched hands as if they were warming themselves. He tried to ignore it, looking down to Yoongi’s guitar.

Jimin’s head still fit almost perfectly on Yoongi’s shoulder, the neck of the guitar resting over his own lap now. Yoongi didn’t stop strumming though, instead correcting his posture so he could accommodate both Jimin and his guitar. They sat in the cold silence, the fire in front of them cracking and popping around the slightly damp logs. Jimin watched them break and fall apart over each other. Yoongi must’ve grabbed them from nearby, they weren’t cut neatly like most of the firewood in camp.

“I missed you.” Yoongi hummed. He always had such a way with words, how endearing. “Seriously. It felt like you disappeared last time…” Jimin reached around Yoongi’s waist, hands playing with the bottom of his jacket. It was thin, as expected of Yoongi and his eternally warm body (cursed lucky son of Apollo), but it must have been as a formality. Jimin grinned into Yoongi’s shoulder as he lifted up Yoongi’s shirt slightly, just enough to slip his fingers against his warm skin.

That managed to draw Yoongi’s attention away from his guitar, yelping as he tried to push Jimin’s freezing fingers out of his shirt. A lot happened at once. Yoongi dropped his guitar into the sand, right on his foot and he cried out. Jimin used his hands to stabilize Yoongi instead of freeze him, laughing loud while Yoongi cursed and reached to grab his own foot. Jimin didn’t realize he missed this, missed Yoongi this much.

It wasn’t pure magic, what the fire did to Yoongi’s skin. No matter how many days he spent inside, hunched over music working out a rhythm that just didn’t sound _quite right_ , he came out looking sunkissed and warm. The fire just made that warmth even more noticeable, more desirable. Jimin wanted to spend days tracing the light freckles on his cheeks, his shoulders, his arms, feeling the warmth escaping from his sun-kissed skin.

He wasn’t surprised to feel himself leaning forward to Yoongi then, head turning enough to catch Yoongi’s lips in a gentle kiss. His hands were still on Yoongi’s skin, radiating enough heat that Jimin could feel them again. Yoongi tensed for a moment, probably still in pain and shock from the guitar on the foot, but quickly melted into the kiss.

Kissing Yoongi was kissing the sun, Jimin had decided years ago when they had first collided. Two kids, new to a world that only wanted to kill them, and a moment of peace. It was dizzying, like the sun eclipsing the moon, powerful yet like a familiar warm embrace. Jimin could kiss Yoongi for hours and barely note the time passing, simply feel the world quiet and disappear around them.

Maybe it was the cold finally getting to them, or a noise somewhere in the woods, or Jimin’s shivering hands now on Yoongi’s bare chest, or Jimin climbing into his lap breathless, but Yoongi pulled away sharply. Their ragged breathing matched as they sat with foreheads together and eyes closed, breathing raspy in unison as Jimin reached desperately forward to kiss Yoongi again.

He didn’t realize until that moment, but maybe that was what he was looking for tonight. Not a freezing walk to put his body into a state of shock and back into a bed, frozen and alone. Not a jaunt around camp at three am to get his mind running to the point of exhaustion and give himself a break he so desperately needed. Not some lonely spirits to remind him that he was very much alive and safe. No, all he needed was to feel another life, another person next to him to remind him that he wasn’t those spirits that plagued his sleep, that he wasn’t the shadowy figures he always saw at the edge of his vision. That he was human, he was here and loved and lovable, not forgotten like those figures that beg him to help them just rest. Before he realized where they were from he felt the tears on his cheeks, eyes tight as if that could prevent them.

Yoongi cooed quietly, hands on Jimin’s lower back rubbing in small circles. Jimin sunk lower in Yoongi’s lap as Yoongi kissed the tears away, slowly pulling Jimin’s now warm hands out of his shirt to sit around his lower back. Yoongi murmured some quiet song as Jimin listened to his steady heartbeat, the uncomfortable distant chill in his bones finally disappearing.

“I missed you. Please don’t leave without telling me again,” his nose never ran that much when he cried, but somehow, some way, he couldn’t finish his sentence without punctuating it with a harsh and shaky inhale. Yuck, phlegm. Yoongi shushed him, rubbing a warm hand through Jimin’s dark hair, enough to make Jimin almost fall asleep right there. Yoongi rested the back of his palm on Jimin’s forehead, chuckling deep within his chest.

“Yah, we need to get you back into bed. You’ve been out too long, Bones Boy.” Ouch, Jimin gets emotionally vulnerable and Yoongi responds with a nickname that haunted Jimin for years. “You’re on the road to hypothermia, I can tell.” Jimin looked up through dark fringe, scowling as best as he could with red-rimmed eyes and flushed cheeks. He was definitely an intimidating image. Yoongi just smiled like he solved one of the world’s mysteries.

Yoongi slipped Jimin off his lap like he was moving a sleeping cat, carefully but with the taste of freedom sweet on his lips. He wrapped his jacket around Jimin’s sleepy figure before picking up his guitar, slinging it over his chest. He bent down, back to Jimin as he motioned for Jimin to climb onto his back.

“Wow, the great Yoongi comes back after who knows how long and offers to give me, the son of Hades, a piggyback ride back to my cabin?” Jimin slid forward, Yoongi’s hands wrapping around Jimin’s thighs in a way that screamed _we are friends_. Ouch again. “Way to make a girl swoon.”

Yoongi whistled quietly, standing up with a concerning amount of ease before setting off for the cabins. It was still dark out, but years of familiarity with the camp let Yoongi avoid the spots that had difficult footing, walking back to the Hades cabin. Neither of them spoke, yet the air practically screamed to be filled. An apology for disappearing for over a year with no mention of where he went, an explanation of who helped fill the whole in Jimin’s heart during that time, what either of them were really doing out at three am. But some things are meant to stay unspoken, some silences made to be protected, and before Jimin realized it they were at the front of the Hades cabin. Susan was still there, as unchanging as ever. Yoongi walked right through the outstretched hand, Jimin momentarily forgetting that he couldn’t see her standing there.

He slid off of Yoongi’s back regretfully, fiddling with the assortment of bracelets around Yoongi’s wrist as the guitar was readjusted to his back. More silence, not unfamiliar enough to be considered awkward, but also not familiar enough to be comfortable. Jimin began to take off Yoongi’s jacket to return before Yoongi grabbed both of Jimin’s hands.

Yoongi stared at Jimin as he brought up his hands, kissing them both along the knuckles tightly before leaning in to kiss Jimin’s forehead. Yoongi pulled back, something obviously on the tip of his tongue. He compartmentalized it quickly though, and Jimin could almost watch it disappear into Yoongi’s brain where things don’t return. How sad.

Jimin smiled back the same way, before pushing open the cabin door and slipping inside. The door closed with a definite thunk, Jimin staring into the dark empty room with an all too familiar sense of loneliness. Would it have been wrong to invite Yoongi in? To ask him to sleep in his bed with him, make Jimin feel like he wasn’t completely alone within this world? Or was it stepping over an unspoken boundary, the one they had unintentionally created years ago when they both found themselves arguing more often than not? It was hard to not consider, especially when Jimin could hear Yoongi quietly whistling as he made his way back to the Apollo cabin, warm and inviting and full of people. It made Jimin feel selfish as he crawled back into his now cold bed, angry at himself for wanting to be with anyone that night and angry that he decided Yoongi was the one who deserved to be hurt by him again. He curled up tight under the dark sheets and familiar quilt blankets from home, the figures at the edge of his vision deciding that Jimin had enough to deal with for one night. And so, he slept.

\---

For the first time in who knows how long, Jimin got to sleep in. At least, he figured he was sleeping in. It was dark in the cabin, quiet in a murky kind of underwater way. It was peaceful, he felt rested for the first time in forever. If all it took for him to get decent sleep was to wander around camp at three am and making some poor life decisions, he should get on that more.

Right. Yoongi. He should deal with… that, whatever that meant. Jimin sat up in bed, head somehow feeling heavier, as if it was full of dark liquid. That’s not good, maybe he was getting sick? His ears sounded plugged, an unsteady hum uncomfortably close to his chest, next to his heart. This was bad, was he having a panic attack? Right when he woke up? What the-

Jimin struggled to scream, jaw clenching shut at the sight of the _thing_ in front of him. He could barely scramble back in his bed, back flush against the cold cabin wall and sheets a mess around his legs, now pulled up to his chest. Unusually, he would see figures at the edge of his vision, spirits who had passed but needed a little guidance to move onto the next step. They stayed out of his way, didn’t bother him, and would eventually take a hint. This figure disregarded any of that courtesy, standing in the center of his vision, right at the end of his bed, gripping the bed frame with sickly white hands.

It was a boy, maybe older than Jimin but harder to tell. He had an orange camp shirt like anyone else, except it looked torn and beaten. His skin was sickly pale, and near his hands it looked practically like marble. His neck was the same pale color, but his face was just-

Blank. Nothing. It was a statue’s face, stuck in eternal waiting for something, anything, to happen and send some emotion through the body of the statue. The statue boy. His hair was messy, chunks marble but other parts a soft brown. He was a human, stuck in a transformation process, and all Jimin could do was sit and watch in terror as the figure struggled to find his voice. The figure shook the bedframe angrily, hitting it with his hands before knocking Jimin’s trunk at the foot of his over, clothes spilling out. Jimin yelped, shaking hands searching for a knife, a weapon, anything to protect himself from this monster before it tried to kill him. The figure turned around, waving its hands in the air as if it was looking for something, before finding its way back to Jimin’s bed frame.

Jimin had a lot of… _unpleasant_ experiences in his life, to say the least. He heard a lot of things that stuck with him, for better or worse. A kid shedding its skin when he was six in first grade, turning into a cyclops bent on murdering him. The doors of a bus being torn off as a harpy tried to murder him on a field trip when he was ten. The hum of the claiming mark when he first arrived at camp, and the murmuring that wasn’t so secretly concealed. His mother’s weak, last breath after months of wasting away to nothing but a shell of her former self, overworked to death.

None of it could come close to the sound that this figure made though, some mix of scream and stone grinding, muffled as if it had a cloth shoved in its mouth. It was desperate, crying as if it was in the most unimaginable pain and begging to be set free. Jimin froze, unsure whether to let the tears fall, grab a coat hanger and use it as a weapon, or console the boy. He didn’t get a choice though, before the figure went silent sharply, hands still gripping the bed frame. With one shaking hand, it reached up and pointed at Jimin. They both froze, until a deep voice sounded clear in Jimin’s mind.

_Help me, Jimin_

Jimin passed out from fear.

\---

And then, as it usually went, Jimin was awoken by screaming. He jolted away, sitting up as fast as he could, reaching out blindly for anything to defend himself before he heard laughter follow the scream. Oh right, there are kids here. The adrenaline left his body as quickly as it came, and he flopped back onto the springy bed. Whatever time it is, he knew it was too early. The clock was blurry in his sleepy eyes, and he easily rolled over to doze off under his comfortably warm blankets. Maybe this was easier than approaching the day, the dumpster fire it was undoubtedly going to be…

That’s what he could hope for, but alas the fates did not desire it. The banging on the door jolted him awake again, sleep more forcefully torn away from him again. One day he can feel well-rested, but apparently, it wasn’t today.

“Jimin!! Come on buddy, wake up!” more banging, some laughter between the two people outside. “Rise and shine baby!”

Jimin groaned, a quiet “Did you hear Kim K tried to trademark that phrase?” outside the cabin door as Jimin finally forced himself up. Uh oh, he was still wearing Yoongi’s jacket, how awkward. He threw it quickly into his mess of dirty clothes, kicking the pile around to try and hide it. An equally quiet “You idiot, that was Kylie Jenner. Get your Kardashians right dude,” prompted Jimin to finally leave the cabin, cracking the door open blearily at whoever was outside.

“He lives!” The two boys jumped onto him, breath leaving Jimin’s body as he struggled to hold them both up. No matter how often they did this, to him or to each other, it still made his heart race and mood improve. It’s the simple things, his mother would say, and she wasn’t wrong.

“C’mon Chim, it’s breakfast time!” Jungkook’s grin could be felt from his tight squeeze of Jimin’s shoulders, obviously excited about whatever food that was going to be served. Jimin hoped it wasn’t eggs and toast again.

“That’s your outfit from yesterday, did you not change before bed?” Taehyung played with space in between the collar of Jimin’s shirt and his camp necklace, fingers warm on his rapidly cooling neck. Jimin leaned into the touch, avoiding Taehyung’s prying eyes. Jungkook leaned back from the tight hug, looking at Jimin with his usual confused puppy look. Oops.

“When we got back last night I was so tired I just passed out, I forgot.” Grin and maybe they won’t notice. They shared a look, Jimin reaching up to pull Taehyung’s hand off of his neck. “I’ll change right now, I’ll be right out okay?” Both of the boys shared a look Jimin didn’t have the brainpower to analyze, retreating to his pitifully quiet and empty cabin to try and find some mix of clothes that were clean and matching.

Jungkook and Taehyung waited patiently outside of the cabin, conversation meandering as they waited for Jimin. He paused by the door, slipping on his shoes that very obviously still had sand on them, and opened the door as casually as he could. Taehyung had an arm wrapped around Jungkook’s shoulders, and when Jimin opened the door they both turned to look at him. Jungkook had one hand intertwined with Taehyung’s hand, the other comfortably around Taehyung’s waist. How cute.

Jimin fit under Taehyung’s other arm as they walked to breakfast, trying to take in the warm atmosphere of a rapidly awakening camp. It wasn’t his favorite time, but it was still nice seeing people trudge out of cabins half asleep, kids running around with their usual boundless energy, and morning people getting food as if there wasn’t a problem with the world. Jimin definitely didn’t like the morning, but seeing everyone move around each other in familiar ease made it worth the yawns he couldn’t suppress.

“Hey, did you hear me?” A tickle on his side grounding him once again as he shot a sharp look at Jungkook’s lopsided grin. “Yoongi is back!” Jungkook’s smile bled into his words as somehow, like a curse, Yoongi almost magically appeared from the mess hall, looking around with a scowl for someone. Jimin clicked his tongue, Jungkook shrugging off Taehyung’s arm to sprint full speed at Yoongi who yelped when Jungkook picked him up, spinning him around excitedly.

“If I had even an ounce of his energy at this time of day, I swear I would…” Taehyung mumbled as he furrowed his brow, Jimin looking up so he could avoid looking at Jungkook and Yoongi. “I don’t know what I’d do, I’m still…” A yawn. “You know.” Jimin grinned, his best friend grinning back down at him.

“Well well well, hello lovebirds. Long time no see.” Yoongi sounded like he had just woken up as well, much to Jimin’s satisfaction. Somehow, Yoongi had managed to wrangle Jungkook into hugging his back, giving him his arms back. It was odd seeing Jungkook's arms tightly around Yoongi’s chest, face rubbing into his hair. The four of them were silent, people walking by to the mess hall. Yoongi cleared his throat, mumbling around the excessive affection Jungkook decided to dish out. “If you guys still want warm food, you should go in soon.”

Taehyung shared a polite smile, motioning to Jungkook absolutely wrapped around Yoongi. “I would say the same, if you didn’t have a parasite on your back.” Yoongi just reached up to pat Jungkook’s head, and Jimin felt like he was watching someone struggle under Cerberus, manageable but terrifying how much energy that was bundled up within one being. They all stood there, silent as if whoever spoke first was going to get egged. They weren’t wrong, it was just a matter of whether or not that egging would be physical.

“So, when’d you get back?” Bless Taehyung, Jimin thought for the unknown time in his life, and Yoongi began to walk into the mess hall, tapping Jungkook’s shoulder curtly to let him know he should let go. When Jungkook did, he looked sleepier, as if the top of Yoongi’s head sucked part of his soul out of him. Taehyung released Jimin from under his arm, shoving hands into his pockets before walking next to Yoongi, who was going on about how he came back late the night before to a camp sleeping soundly and didn’t want to risk scaring people awake for one person returning.

Jungkook walked next to Jimin into the hall, both of them looking around for the best place to sit. “You know, I saw him last night. When he came back.” Jungkook rubbed his face when he spoke, almost embarrassed to mention it as if speaking about it was exposing some sort of fatal weakness. “He didn’t want me to tell anyone, but it seems like he’s getting along fine…” Jimin walked silently beside Jungkook to the plates of food, steering Jungkook with a slight push of his shoulder to follow Taehyung and Yoongi to their seats.

They sat down, Jimin beside Taehyung and Jungkook beside Yoongi. Jimin quickly tuned out whatever Taehyung and Yoongi started talking about, instead focusing on his food. How awkward. Eating breakfast with your two friend-boyfriends-bros and your booty call. Granted, the food was as good as always, but it still couldn’t break Jimin out of the uncomfortable haze. He looked up to see Jungkook with eyes closed, breathing deep as if he was trying to relax. It was a son of Ares thing he picked up, mostly when he was getting angry or overwhelmed. Helped him calm down, he said, but Jimin felt like it was an excuse for him to zone out of the conversation too. As grateful that they all were to be able to sit with people not in their cabin anymore, it didn’t get rid of awkward breakfasts, unfortunately.

Jimin looked back down at his food, pushing it around mindlessly. His… dream, he figured, was still uncomfortably fresh in his mind. Just thinking about it made him antsy. The spirits never talked to him, much less approached him head-on. And the cry, it sounded so guttural, like from deep within a being that wasn’t able to speak for eons.

A warm hand on his thigh distracted him. Taehyung didn’t stop the conversation with Yoongi, which Jungkook had joined in on, but had rested his hand on Jimin’s leg. He didn’t realize it, but he had been bouncing his leg aggressively and was probably shaking the whole bench. Jungkook asked Yoongi a question, and they started discussing something while Taehyung looked worriedly at Jimin.

“Everything okay?” Taehyung rubbed his hand on Jimin’s thigh as if that could massage the anxiety out of him, and Jimin just smiled weakly. Taehyung hummed, looking back at Jungkook motioning excitedly about something, Yoongi watching contently.

\---

Breakfast had ended as smoothly as it started, which meant well enough. Yoongi had to go talk to Chiron after they finished cleaning up, and left with a noncommittal wave. Jungkook waved the most excitedly back, turning to Taehyung and Jimin plastered to each other’s sides. It was easy to read the excitement in Jungkook’s face, whether it be due to infatuation or actual romantic feelings was hard to place. He grinned, hands clasped tight at his chest. “So, he’s back!”

Jimin and Taehyung both laughed at that, Taehyung letting go of Jimin to ruffle Jungkook’s hair and start effectively a shoving match. Jimin grinned when Jungkook got Taehyung in a headlock, the son of Ares no match for the Hermes boy. But, like the playful oversized puppy he was, Jungkook let go after Taehyung simply patted his thigh, both of them slightly out of breath but still laughing.

“Do you guys think he still has that good luck charm I made him?” Jungkook had grabbed both of their hands and had begun leading them to the practice grounds, apparently envigored enough to practice anything. “You know, that small white one.” Jungkook kicked a rock, grinning like a kid just offered candy. “The one that he used to have on his guitar.”

Oh right, Jimin remembered. It was small, hardly white anymore, but it was still there. More of a faded ivory color with an obvious weathering, but it was hanging off of Yoongi’s guitar the night before. Before Jimin could respond though, Jungkook sprinted ahead to the gear shed, hands shaking in excitement. How endearing, it was sometimes all too easy to forget how he would turn into a brutal fighting machine during capture of the flag. Almost.

“No way, you got the electric spears to work?!” Taehyung looked at Jimin fearfully, eyes almost comically wide. Jungkook cheered, the sound of a high five coming out of the dangerous shed. Taehyung leaned down to whisper in Jimin’s ear how very unwilling he was today to be electrocuted, and Jimin couldn’t agree more. Some divine power seemed to favor them though, when one of the younger Athena kids ran up to them.

Her name was Yeojin, she said almost shyly, before tugging on both Taehyung and Jimin’s hands. “Chiron wants to see you. In the Big House.” She looked past both of them at Jungkook, tearing off his shirt to put on some sort of armor that theoretically protected him from the electricity. She blushed “He said now.”

Taehyung shouted to Jungkook that they would be right back, but Jimin wasn’t paying attention, already walking away from the practice grounds. Yeojin had run off, probably to find someone else to question about advanced battle theory. Jimin fiddled with the back of his necklace, brow furrowed. Chiron wasn’t the kind of person to just invite you over for tea and a little chat. He was never like _Hey, how’s it going? Learn any neat survival tricks recently?_ And that stressed Jimin out.

Warm fingers covered Jimin’s eternally cold ones (curse you Long Island) as Taehyung pried Jimin’s own restless hand off of his neck, instead wrapping their hands together. Taehyung let Jimin lead ever so slightly, but didn’t try to make eye contact or say anything. He probably was trying to figure out why they were called too, so it was easier for both of them to walk in comfortable silence. Taehyung was also the one to knock on the door, sending Jimin a bold smile as Chiron told them to enter.

“You both came quick, I wasn’t expecting it. We’re waiting on more people, make yourselves comfortable.” He was really focused on a small plant in a black pot, leaves yellowing at the tip. Taehyung led both of them to an old sofa, books stacked up along its base and on the side tables. There was a dagger precariously balancing on a book titled “Houseplants and You: The Match Made In Heaven”. How ironic.

“That’s a pothos,” Taehyung muttered to Jimin, motioning to the yellowing plant. “He’s watered it too much, it’s next to a fern and orchid, he really has this place poorly organized…” Jimin never knew how Taehyung knew so much about plants considering he wasn’t a Demeter kid, but he did like to hang out in the strawberry fields to calm his mind once in a while, so it was probably residual knowledge. Lucky him, all Jimin had picked up was how many times it took to be electrocuted before you were done for the day (for him, it was seven. Jungkook had an impressive fifteen.)

Chiron had eventually given up watering plants after Jimin and Taehyung had watched him water the same one three times, only stopping when Taehyung cleared his throat. Other kids had started to file in, Chiron leaving for a moment before returning in his wheelchair. Mr.D also walked in, and Jimin felt Taehyung stiffen slightly beside him.

Jimin knew some of the other kids, most of them just familiar faces in passing through. Mari and Alexi stood by each other, both children of Ares. Jungkook said they were cool enough, and they hadn’t tried to electrocute Jimin yet, so he figured they were cool. Jonas and Claudia were chatting about what they wanted for dinner, Claudia messing with some cord in her hands. Child of Hermes and Tyche respectively, and they both perked up when Noah walked in, child of Nemesis. They were all interesting fighters, it seemed like they had been through a lot together. The last people to walk in were the quiet trio of girls; Kim Lip, Jinsoul, and Choerry. The first two were sisters and children of Hecate, the third a child of Hermes. They never really mentioned if their names were anything else, and rarely talked to anyone other than themselves. They made Jimin think of that nineties movie _The Craft_. They were unsettling.

As Jimin tried to figure out why he knew everyone's lineage (seriously, that was a little creepy of him), Chiron cleared his throat, Mr.D leaning against a doorframe behind him, staring aggressively into his Coke can. Everyone quieted down, and for a brief second, it was just ten unnatural kids, one immortal teacher, and a disgruntled god.

“So, I’m guessing you all don’t have a single clue why I called you all in,” Chiron smiled and clasped his hands together in his lap. It was quiet, save for the insistent dripping of the overwatered plants, and Mr.D’s huffing. Jimin wondered why Chiron didn’t ever give them to the Demeter kids, but there was probably something endearing and positive about being able to grow them on your own. He figured if he had any of his own, he’d probably kill them too, so he wasn’t too sure why he was focusing on that instead of what Chiron was saying. Nerves, probably.

“We have a quest for all of you, but it’s more of a retrieval. Each of you will go with your respective groups,” He motions at the pairings and trios they have formed, “and based on some of our calculations you can all leave tomorrow morning. It should only take a week or so at most, so you all won’t have to pack too heavy.”

Well. Jimin didn’t expect that. Taehyung didn’t either apparently, gripping Jimin’s hand tighter from between them on the sofa. Jimin focused on the bones in his hand straining instead of his heart racing. Everyone wanted to go on quests, of course, it was like proving yourself. Except Yoongi just got back. And what about Jungkook? Was he not allowed to go too? And Jimin liked it here at camp, no danger and nothing to worry about. Taehyung felt the same way he figured.

“Mr.D here has some maps for you guys, each of you have a different place you’ll be going.” Mr.D paled at that, patting his shorts until he pulled out some crumpled sticky notes, walking over to hand them out. Taehyung reached out for it, but Mr.D gave it to Jimin instead. Jimin could feel Tae get frustrated, leaning back into the sofa slowly.

Jimin flattened the sticky note, seeing “Aunty Em’s Gnome Emporium [EMPTY(?)]” scrawled on it, turning it to show Taehyung. Tae’s eyes weren’t on it though, instead looking at Chiron emptily. Jimin made a mental note to ask him what was wrong later.

“As I previously said, your journeys will be with a recovery focus. You all will be… how do I put this right… collecting former campmates, be it their belongings or remains of them, as in Jimin and Taehyung’s case.” Uh oh. Jimin suddenly remembered his dream, the stone boy’s pain shooting back to the forefront of Jimin’s mind. This could not end well.

“Some of the areas we gave you are still inhabited, such as the factory in Detroit that Mari and Alexi are going to, but most of them _should_ be abandoned, thanks to previous campers eradicating whatever lived there.” Jimin noted the ‘should’, and hoped that Chiron was right.

“So, unless any of you have questions, that’s it from me. Be sure to pack soon, reminder we have our weekly campfire tonight!” Chiron smiled, clasping his hands together loudly. For a brief moment, Jimin could almost imagine him as a hippie camp counselor who would teach kids how to braid flowers into their hair as they sang some cheesy campfire song. That brief moment quickly passed though, and Jimin was back to worrying about their ‘assignment’, since calling it a quest felt unfair.

Jimin and Taehyung waited as everyone else filed out, chatting about what kind of snacks they were going to take as well as how many socks they were going to pack (Jimin swears Mari said two, and Jonas grimaced at that). Taehyung held onto the sticky note with the address hastily scribbled down, fiddling with the folded edge. Jimin watched him start to fold it into a little fortune teller, smiling when he finished. They walked in silence, slowing down slowly until they stopped, halfway between the Big House and the cabins. The eight other questers walked ahead, unaware of who they left behind.

“We can’t tell Jungkook,” Taehyung gripped the fortune teller tightly, nervously unfolding it again. Jimin watched silently as Taehyung bit his lip, obviously frustrated. “At least until we have to go tomorrow. He’ll be mad, yeah but…”

“But he’ll get over it.” Taehyung nodded, still biting his lip. Jimin smiled softly, reaching out to grab Taehyung’s restless hands in his own. Jimin hated this kind of anticipation, like they were in a roller coaster that got stuck at the highest peak, right before they fell. It was like they were waiting for the machine to give way and drop them, or for a maintenance crew to come and rescue them. Either way sucked, but Jimin wished that they could just get it over with and begin the rapid descent.

“Tae, I…” They met eyes, and Jimin just felt bad. He was dragging his friend into something dark, he knew it, and there was nothing he could do. He just hoped, if anything, Taehyung got to come back safe. Jimin pulled Taehyung’s hand toward his own body, standing up taller to press a quick kiss to his cheek, smiling.

“Nevermind, let’s go pack."

\---

That campfire, they once again had an insane amount of marshmallows to roast and smores to make. Jimin still had yet to figure out how they managed to appear in the camp in the sheer numbers that they managed to, but he figured he had to give credit to the satyrs. He wasn’t convinced, but he was pretty sure it was required for them to bring back a pack of marshmallows whenever they returned to camp. However they appeared, the younger kids always seemed infinitely grateful for the unending supply.

Jimin sat squished between Taehyung and Jungkook, grateful for the body heat even if it meant he was in the crossfire of mini marshmallows and graham cracker dust. But hey, at least he was warm. Their legs were a tangled mess, so they couldn’t do much other than smile and wave at people passing by.

Yoongi eventually came by too, towing along two older campers named Namjoon and Hoseok. Jimin recognized Namjoon from the group of Hephaestus kids that helped Jungkook and his siblings create the electric spears, but he didn’t recognize Hoseok. He sat close to Yoongi, grin dazzling. Jimin watched Hoseok reach up to his neck to play with his necklace, an out-of-place silver moon hanging off among his camp beads. Namjoon and Jungkook were chatting, probably about a new weapon they could electrify (a terrifying thought), and Yoongi caught Jimin and Taehyung staring at Hoseok, laughing in his deep gruff way.

“Obvious much boys?” Hoseok noticed, laughing loud and covering his face. Jimin watched his other hand go to his neck to play with his necklace, an out-of-place silver moon hanging off. Jimin and Taehyung both blushed, focusing back on the bit of fire they could see through the people seated in front of them. Taehyung offered Jimin a marshmallow, both of them trying to direct their attention elsewhere.

“Yah Yoonie, don’t be rude! They can’t help it!” Jimin stiffened slightly. Yoonie? Did he really go by that? “Don’t worry, I don’t blame you guys! My mom is Aphrodite, it happens.” Hoseok smiled, waving slightly like it was a minor inconvenience. Well, that explains the dazzling shine in his eyes, Jimin had already begun to plan how he was going to tell Jungkook and Tae that he couldn’t be with them anymore. Luckily, it just seemed like something that couldn’t be controlled.

Jungkook pulled on Jimin’s sleeve, eyes big. “Did you know Joon and Yoongi came to camp together?” He had a nickname already? Jimin looked past Jungkook to Namjoon rubbing his own neck bashfully.

“I thought everyone knew, is it a big deal?” Yoongi and Hoseok laughed on the other side of Jimin, Jungkook’s eyes sparkly and wide. It was almost like you told him that the electric spears they had also gave them the power to fly.

“N-no, it’s not big! It’s um… I just didn’t know!” Jungkook was obviously flustered, waving his hands like it wasn’t a big deal. Taehyung snickered, Jungkook reaching around Jimin’s shoulders to smack Taehyung’s arm.

The sound of all the campers getting a day to be kids again was one Jimin was always obsessed with. Hearing the hum of conversation, of people laughing and enjoying themselves, it was something he never realized he missed until he was laying in bed after the campfire.

Jungkook pulled on Jimin’s sleeve again, motioning his head to Namjoon who had a questioning look on his face. Jimin blushed slightly, laughing off his confusion. “Sorry, what? I was zoning out…”  
Namjoon smiled warmly, waving his hand to excuse Jimin. “It’s fine, don’t worry! I was just asking when you got to camp, I think I’ve seen you around before but I also tend to forget people,” Yoongi piped in too, mentioning that he and Namjoon came to camp around the same time.

“Oh, yeah! Tae and I,” Taehyung raised his hand when Jimin motioned to him as if there was any confusion on who everyone was, “we both came around the same time. We met each other right outside of camp, right?” Taehyung nodded, grinning big.

“Yeah, Chimmy here was all packed up nice and organized, Charlie leading him to camp. He looked almost like any other kid going to summer camp!” Taehyung chuckled, Jimin hitting his arm playfully.  
“Hey! At least I had stuff, you just kinda wandered in by accident, didn’t you?” Taehyung winked, and Namjoon covered his face slightly.

“Wait wait wait, Taehyung you just walked in? On accident?” Namjoon seemed shocked by that possibility, but Taehyung was obviously proud of it. He puffed his chest out a little, almost like he was showing off the fact that he didn’t somehow die finding camp.

“Yep, and more or less in one piece! No clue how it happened, but I’ll just be grateful for it!” Jungkook snickered at the one piece comment, whispering to Jimin how Taehyung obviously lost some of his brains in the trek while Taehyung hit Jungkook, payback from earlier. “Yah, Jungkook, you didn’t come to camp much better than me, what are you saying?”

Jungkook laughed, leaning back to dodge another hit from Taehyung. “Not my fault I fought my way here! It’s in my blood!” Namjoon paled at that again, and Jimin felt his heart reach out for him. He obviously wasn’t used to the chaoticness that Taehyung and Jungkook managed to create between the two of them, and Jimin would bet Namjoon would leave tonight with even a small headache.  
“Wait Jungkook, you didn’t get led in?” Yoongi seemed confused too, and Jungkook grinned wide, obviously excited to tell his story. Namjoon groaned, rubbing his eyes.

“Ohoho, even you don’t know? Oh man, get strapped in, this story is iconic…” He started to go on about how he had fought monsters practically nonstop before he came to camp, mostly because he thought he was just a confrontational kid, and when some had kidnapped him he fought his way out and stumbled into camp thinking it was a safe place to catch his breath. Jimin remembered it happening, a young Jungkook walking into camp a little confused and very dirty, bloody and tattered shirt barely hanging on his small frame. He remembered Chiron freaking out and calling for any Apollo kids to help patch him up, but Jungkook was high on adrenaline and seemed almost unaffected by the fact that one arm was broken and the other was dislocated. Freaky fighter blood.

Taehyung bumped Jimin’s shoulder, leaning into his field of view slightly looking concerned. _You good?_ he mouthed, Jimin smiling softly and nodded. _Just stressed_ he mouthed back, and Taehyung nodded. Jimin’s hand felt warmer as Taehyung grabbed it, rubbing it with both hands before squeezing it tightly. Comforting.

“So Hoseok, you’ve been here the longest? Before Yoongi and Joon?” Jungkook leaned past Jimin and Taehyung to look at the other two at the edge of the bench. Hoseok grinned, nodding.  
“You can call me Hobi, all my friends do!” Jimin noted Jungkook’s blush and could practically read his excitement at being considered a friend. “Yeah, I’ve been here since I was a little kid. My dad didn’t know what to do with a kid that people kept trying to scout for tv and music, so it wasn’t the safest situation for me. I live here year-round too, it just saves me the headache of having to turn down people trying to scout me all day.” Jungkook looked absolutely enamored, and Jimin was convinced if his hearing was any better he would be able to hear Jungkook chanting ‘cool’ in his head.

Jimin zoned out again, listening to the general buzz of the camp. It was odd how comforting a whole camp of screaming kids could be, but it was nice to not be completely alone. If he looked hard enough to the edges of the campfire he could see the confused spirits pacing around, still unsure where they were. His mind wandered back to the stone-faced spirit he saw the night before, stomach dropping at the thought that whoever that was would be waiting for them at the (hopefully) empty gnome emporium. One could hope, and Jimin was putting an awful lot of hope into their trip. Taehyung squeezed his hand again, looking over to make eye contact. They both sat silently for a moment, then Taehyung was standing and pulling Jimin along with him.

“Hey yall, sorry but I think it’s time we turn in. Long day, you know what it is.” Taehyung grinned, holding tight onto Jimin’s hand. Jimin wasn’t sure if it was to ground himself or Tae, but he appreciated it nonetheless. Everyone else wished them a good night, Jungkook looking slightly confused but waving good night. Jimin noted that as soon as they started to walk away, Jungkook turned fully to Namjoon to chat. At least he wouldn’t be left alone at camp.

They were some of the first people to leave the campfire, but it wasn’t unusual. Usually, the Apollo kids turned in early, tiring themselves out from leading sing-alongs around the fire (Yoongi was the freak who was one of the only night owls from his cabin), and some younger campers would leave, following some inborn bedtime timer. And then there were campers like the two of them, leaving under the guise of ‘early bedtime’. They were usually lying, but it was a lie that didn’t hurt anyone.

Jimin expected to get a kiss on the forehead in front of his cabin, go inside alone and try to sleep as best as he could. He wasn’t sure how peaceful that would be considering all the spirits they walked by, more than he felt he usually saw. Maybe it was stress. Luckily, Susan was still there, so there’s that consistency. Jimin was pleasantly surprised by Taehyung opening the door to the Hades cabin, leading them both into the uncomfortably empty room.

Even though it wasn’t the first time it happened, Jimin still had butterflies in his stomach when Taehyung pulled him toward his own bed, both of them pulling off their bright orange camp shirts, throwing them into some unidentifiable pile. They both grinned, Taehyung falling back onto the bed, hands now tight on both of Jimin’s. Moments like this make Jimin forget that he’s in a bit of a predicament, lifestyle-wise. He forgets he’s the son of some ultra dangerous, super old deity, and gets to simply live his own life. He gets to savor the feeling of Taehyung’s lips all over his face, kissing the tension that had built up within his brow. Savor the way the lights from inside made Taehyung appear even warmer, and the way his embrace felt like it touched the deepest parts of Jimin’s soul.

It was falling and embracing the feeling of your stomach dropping, devouring that feeling until it becomes synonymous with pleasure and happiness. Jimin didn’t have to be Jimin, he could simply be a human experiencing love in a physical way. It was addicting and easy to obsess over, and it made Jimin even more grateful that the stars aligned so that he was able to meet Taehyung.

They fell asleep together, a mess of limbs as Taehyung was holding onto Jimin like either of them would slip away. Jimin tried to identify his own body from within the mess while on the edge of sleep, and pleasantly realized it was almost like he was just a concept.

For the first time in who knows how long, Jimin was able to fall asleep, stay asleep, and dream of nothing except peaceful nothingness.

\---

Loud banging on the cabin door woke Jimin up, feeling Taehyung groan from the mess of limbs between them on the bed. Sure, they were used to yelling kids and clanging weapons, but he would definitely have to write down ‘aggressive knocking’ on the list of things that woke him up. Jimin tried to pull himself out of Taehyung’s strong sleepy grip, the banging getting louder.

“Jimin, wake up you asshole! Get out here before I tear this door down!” If Jimin didn’t know any better, it could have been his third-grade teacher yelling at him, if only the voice was a little too masculine and emotional to be like hers. Jimin rubbed his eyes as he went to the cabin door, opening it to a wildly emotional Jungkook. He pushed past Jimin as he stormed in, Jimin groaning about Jungkook walking past the entrance with muddy shoes. Typical Ares boy.

“Tae, you get up too, you fucker,” Jungkook grabbed Taehyung’s legs, pulling him toward the edge of the bed, threatening to drop him onto the ground. Taehyung yelped at Jungkook’s cold hands around his ankles, kicking him to try and free himself from the angry grip.

“Jungkook, dude… it’s like seven am. What’s up? What happened?” Jimin yawned, walking over to try and get space between the very sleepy Tae and the angry Jungkook. Jungkook turned quickly to him, face red and breath ragged.

“What happened? _What happened?_ I woke up to Mari and Alexi getting ready for a _quest_ today, and they said I better go wake up my boyfriends so that everyone could leave at the same time!” Oh shit. Jimin could feel that bus running over him, he was definitely going to have to tell Mari and Alexi they screwed them over this time.

Taehyung sat up, looking a little bit more coherent now as he made eye contact with Jimin, eyes big. All of a sudden they had a raging bull in a china shop, and their priority was calming him down. Easier said than done. They both started to talk at the same time, trying to excuse what was happening, and Jungkook grabbed the trunk at the bottom of Jimin’s bed, throwing it across the room. Clothes went flying, Jimin and Taehyung silent in shock.

“You didn’t even fight to get me to go with you! You know I’ve wanted to go on a quest for ever, and you didn’t even think of asking if I could go along? What is wrong with both of you?” Jungkook turned around, finding another (empty, thankfully) trunk to throw, and began to shove beds around. If Nico were to show up any second now, Jimin was pretty sure he would first be killed by the raging Jungkook, then Nico for allowing the cabin to be destroyed.

“First Yoongi, then you two! No one even cares about me at this camp, I’m just here for your amusement!” Jungkook started kicking the clothes on the ground, shirts getting mud streaks on them. This was the tipping point for Jimin, now walking forward to grab Jungkook’s arms to pull him back. It was like wrestling a big dog who didn’t understand the difference between fighting and play, and Jimin wasn’t convinced Jungkook wouldn’t try to bite his hands if he got too close. Taehyung got up too, quickly helping Jimin stop Jungkook from rampaging.

They managed to fight Jungkook to the outside of the cabin, telling him they would be out as soon as they were dressed and closed the door firmly on him, still throwing a tantrum. For a moment, they both leaned against the closed door, breathing ragged and surveying the mess. Taehyung tried to find his shirt in the mess of scattered clothes, confusing Jimin’s for his own until it barely fit. The name on the back of the collar identified it as Jimins, who slipped it on quietly. They both tried to organize everything back to as normal as possible, ignoring the loud curses from outside the cabin as Jungkook probably threw rocks at trees or something.

Jimin grabbed his bag and short sword, collapsing down into its handle. They surveyed the still messy cabin, deeming it okay enough for now, and opened the door to deal with their first monster of the trip.

As they predicted, Jungkook had been throwing rocks at the trees, but upon seeing Jimin and Taehyung come out of the cabin, he threw a few at them (which luckily missed, probably only due to his exhaustion beginning to set in) before stomping over to renew the fight. Taehyung walked forward to intercept Jungkook from grabbing Jimin, intent to use Jimin like a weapon against Taehyung. Jimin didn’t want to become a sword, that was a terrifying thought.

“Calm down dude, you’re going to destroy all of camp!” Taehyung held tightly onto Jungkook’s collar, Jungkook fighting like a cat being held unwillingly. It would have been endearing if Jungkook wasn’t still cursing and threatening to break their bones.

“It was nothing we could control, take it up with Chiron, man!” Taehyung nodded along. If this was the first sign of their quest, then Jimin wasn’t too optimistic. He couldn’t even see Susan hanging around, probably scared off by the raging Jungkook. Jungkook looked at both of them, eyes a mix of hate and hurt, before pushing Taehyung’s hands off of his collar, storming off. They watched him leave silently before Taehyung sighed, rubbing his face.

“Well, good morning then. Let me go get my stuff, I’ll meet yall… at the uh exit, right, I’ll be right there…” Taehyung shuffled off, shoes only half on. To anyone walking by, they probably looked like they had all been through a huge breakup, which wasn’t entirely false. Just not entirely true.

Jimin met up with everyone else getting ready to leave, the sun warming up the hill that was separated by the border, dew slowly disappearing. Luckily they weren’t the last to leave, the trio of girls still weren’t there, everyone else still waking up entirely. Mari and Alexi gave Jimin a brief apology for telling Jungkook that they were leaving, and he waved it off. Better quick and painless, rip the band-aid off kind of thing. Taehyung eventually came into view, walking next to the silent trio of girls. He looked slightly uncomfortable by them, but otherwise tried to appear cheerful. He waved to everyone as if they were meeting to get on a school bus for a field trip together.

They all began to walk out of the border, Jimin and Taehyung in between the silent trio and the other Ares kids. Jimin wished he could explain how it felt to walk through the barrier, but honestly, it felt like walking through any doorway. He didn’t feel anything magical or mystical happen, just felt a lot more exposed and on edge. Yoongi had gone on and on about it before, but it all went over Jimin’s head. Everyone walked in an attempted line, more in theory than practice. Everyone was chatting, but it was obvious how everyone got a little quieter and aware the moment they stepped out of the camp confines.

They had all heard of other quests, Percy and Annabeth excitedly talking about things when they got back to camp, Grover chiming in occasionally. Jimin was always enthralled by their stories, Taehyung and him sharing bright looks as if saying that they would be out there one day. Percy and Annabeth were always swamped after the campfires, so Jimin never got to ask them any questions, but he more often wondered how they traveled. He knew they had taken a taxi with the Fates, but Jimin always wondered about everyone who went on quests with more people.  
He was appropriately disappointed when they got closer to the Greyhound station, unsurprisingly abandoned. Claudia pulled out an envelope from Chiron with fare money, and they all lined up in their groups to order tickets. Jimin sighed, wishing he could get a cool story like other campers, but at least the buses were comfy, right? Taehyung seemed unbothered by the buses, more focused on the excitement of a quest.

“Tae, do you have the map? I need to know where we buy a ticket to…” Taehyung turned back around to face Jimin, fishing out an old map from his bag. Everyone else had purchased their tickets, sitting under the rusted covers. It was more of a lean, considering the seats were angled so no one could sleep on them, and the conversations faded into the birdsong and insect hum in the woods around them.

They traced the map they had, comparing it to the Greyhound route, eventually settling on a stop. Jimin rationalized that it was close enough that they could walk the rest of the way, and if things got too rough he could shadow travel with Tae.

Taehyung held onto the printed tickets, shoving them into his deep pants pockets, and they went to wait with the other campers. Everyone seemed a bit more awake than earlier, the early trek and excitement now motivating people to stay aware and on edge. Cars drove by every so often, and Jimin figured they all looked like the kids that traveled cross country with their church. If only they had a cool white van to travel in, it would make the waiting less tedious.

And wait they did. The trio’s bus came first, and they all got on in a silent single-file line, not even waving goodbye to anyone else. Jonas, Claudia, and Noah got the next bus, waving happily from the back window even as they pulled away. Jimin and Taehyung tried to keep an engaging conversation with Mari and Alexi, but it was obvious that they were focused on making sure their collection of weapons were sharp enough. Right up until their bus pulled up, Jimin and Taehyung watched in silent shock as they continued to pull knife after sword after spear out of their seemingly small bag. They packed up quickly as their bus pulled in, waving curtly at the last two members of the quest.

After a few long, boring hours, their bus finally pulls in. Jimin almost cried from happiness, and Taehyung did let one tear out. It was unclear how many more rounds of I-Spy they could brave. They grabbed their bags quickly, shaking their legs to get blood back in them, and walked up to hand their tickets off to the bus driver.

He was older, completely emotionless and pretty obviously hardened by endless travelers heckling him. They handed over their tickets silently, him motioning to the back of the bus for them to sit anywhere.

The bus was relatively empty, an older man sitting at the front with a hat pulled down over his eyes. Halfway through the bus was a college aged girl next to a scruff man, and as Jimin walked by he could hear the guy talking about chariot wheels. The girl made eye contact with Jimin, and he could see she was seconds away from jumping out the window. Jimin smiled weakly, slipping into the chair next to Taehyung at the back of the bus.

The gentle hum of the bus made Jimin zone out, Taehyung’s head dipping low as he fell asleep. The bounciness of the bus was somehow comforting, and Jimin stared out the window as they continued to drive.

As they rode, Jimin looked over the map that Taehyung had packed, pencil marks hastily erased from other quests. It was nice of the other Hermes kids to let them take it, but it also wasn’t like it was getting much use sitting in some trunk in the cabin.

Jimin traced the route they were taking with his fingers a few times, taking time to memorize the name of the stop they were getting off at, and then looked a little closer at the local towns. The closest one seemed a short walk away from the bus stop, hopefully faster with their anxious speed and fear of getting stuck in some scary woods at night. Although he hadn’t seen it, Jimin wasn’t too keen on recreating The Blair Witch Project, spooky branches in trees and whatnot.

A heavy thump on his shoulder made him jump before he realized it was Taehyung’s sleeping head. Jimin leaned back slightly so Taehyung’s head didn’t risk bouncing around and hitting the back of the seat, and he waited for Taehyung to wake up so they could switch off.

\---

Raised voices shocked Jimin awake, neck stiff as he lifted his head off of Tae’s sleeping shoulder. He blinked some, rubbing the side of his face that fell asleep, sitting up to look down the bus aisle to the noise. Taehyung shifted next to him, Jimin tapping his thigh to try and wake him up without having to look away. The voices got louder, and the bus slowed down. Something cold pressed against his leg, and Jimin figured Taehyung had pulled some sort of weapon out of his bag, just in case.

The guy who had been trying to sell the wheels was now standing, one hand holding onto the overhead bin above the seats, the other gesturing wildly at the woman sitting down. He lurched as the bus stopped, but kept yelling. His voice echoed around the still bus, Taehyung stiffening next to Jimin. Yelling, a bad thing, right.

“You’re such a bitch! All women do is lead us good guys on for hours and hours just to pull the ‘oh I have a boyfriend’ card? You put yourself in this situation, what would he think of you going across the country whoring yourself out to any guy that says hi to you?”

Jimin couldn’t see the woman in the seat, the rows obscuring his vision just enough to block her, but he knew shit was going down when the bus driver unbuckled himself, reaching into some console area to grab something. Everyone else, except for the guy yelling, watched in silence as the bus driver walked down the aisle.

In an unexpected turn of events, the bus driver brought a metal rod over his head, moving fast with a scary amount of accuracy and conviction. Jimin flinched as the man crumbled like a can, Taehyung gasping and grabbing Jimin’s thigh. The bus sat in silence now void of the yelling, and the bus driver went back to the front of the bus to drop the terrifying rod onto his seat. Jimin watched in silence as the driver walked back to the now unconscious man, Taehyung leaning into Jimin’s lap to get a clear look down the aisle. The bus driver pushed the man over, reaching down with a loud huff to grab his feet. A quiet shuffling accompanied the image of the driver dragging the man down the aisle and out of the bus. Jimin felt a spell of fear finally break, finally able to tear his eyes away from the now empty aisle to Tae’s wide eyes, shoulders in his lap.

They didn’t have to say anything to express their absolute pants-shitting fear. The bus driver eventually made his way back on the bus, and Jimin liked to believe the unconscious man was sitting propped up against a tree. Or a log. He’d even humor a lone tire. The bus driver walked to the lady who was being yelled at, and they spoke quietly before he returned to his seat.

The bus started up again, pulling back onto the highway to continue its journey. The atmosphere was undoubtedly different, and Jimin couldn’t tell if the fear was just him and Tae overreacting or if that was one of the most shocking events he’s ever seen. Bold, coming from someone who was literally half a deity, but who was Jimin to judge.

\---

Eventually, they got to their stop. It looked identical to the one they had waited at earlier in the day, the only difference was the different colored trees around it and the warm light from a small town nearby. The highway that they had gotten off at was a bit more active than the one by camp, with large trucks parked at truck stops and gas stations near the station.

They got off silently, the bus driver nodding silently before cranking the door closed, the bus driving off quietly. This station was as abandoned as the one near camp, but this one had posters up on the outside promoting new products with different gods' faces on them.

“I cannot believe that Greyhound was a demi-god thing, and no one had a mind to tell us?” Jimin waved Taehyung off, motioning for him to turn around so Jimin could get the map out. Hermes’ wide grin stared hollowly down at them, a slogan for fast and reliable delivery plastered around his head. The thumbs-up was an added bonus, although a little unnecessary. Jimin wondered how Taehyung felt, seeing his dad staring down at him in some omnipresent manner. Taehyung didn’t look up at the poster.

They finally left the stop, route planned on a map to the gas station to get directions to a motel they could spend the night at. It was starting to get dark, the sun setting and making everything a warm golden, and they knew better than cut it any closer than they already were.

There was an older woman behind the counter of the gas station, greying hair tied back in a low ponytail. She smiled warmly at them when they walked in, leaning forward on the counter.

“Hey boys, what can I get ya?” Jimin pulled the map out of Taehyung’s bag, spreading it out on the counter. She looked a little confused by the map, looking closer at where Jimin was pointing.

“Is this the town we’re near? Is there a motel we can spend the night at?” The lady grabbed some glasses out from below the counter, putting them on and looking close. She hummed, pulling out her phone to look something up. They watched silently as she peered down her nose at the phone, swiping through it before turning to show them.

“Yep, that’s us. There’s this place, Cozy Ann’s, it should be good. My friend Carol would sleep there when her husband would get crazy, Ann does a good job of keeping it clean.” She looked between them. “And keeping secrets. You boys got food?”

Jimin grabbed the map back, looking briefly at the lady’s phone to see how far away it was from them. He hadn’t seen a mobile phone in so long, it was almost like new technology again. The lady leaned forward to input a walking route, letting Jimin move the map around and get a closer look.

“Yeah, we’re good. Thanks for the help.” Taehyung grabbed Jimin’s arm, leading them both out of the shop. Jimin folded the map as best as he could, shoving it back into Taehyung’s bag before walking by him.

“It’s about a twenty-minute walk, I think we can do it faster.” Taehyung nodded, looking both ways before motioning to Jimin that they could cross the highway to walk along the road into the town. They walked silently for a few minutes, sky gradually darkening and lights from the town slowly brightening.

“Jimin, do you think she thought… we were…” Taehyung mumbled, eyes still ahead.

“What, gay? Dating?” Taehyung shrugged noncommittal, hands deep in his pockets. “Running away from someone? Cause honestly, I think the people on the bus did.” Taehyung hummed, grinning slightly.

“I didn’t even realize Greyhound was a demi-god thing, or at least now. I thought it used to be normal?” Jimin nodded, noting how quick it was getting dark. It’s always the east coast, getting ominous and shit.

“Mm, I think it was acquired by the Amazons recently. They own everything, I swear…” Jimin looked down the desolate street before motioning to Taehyung to pick up the pace as they looked for Cozy Ann’s.

The sun had finally set when they found the motel, not quite dark yet but dark enough to make them anxious to get inside. The main building was lit warmly, shades covering the windows enough to muddle the light coming out. The rest of the building was behind the main one, about five doors or so. Each one had an old warm light above the door, casting a light that would be scary if they weren’t so paranoid about what could be outside. The moths crowding the lights were probably a good sign too, if that gave them any reassurance.

The door chimed when they walked in, a middle-aged woman behind the counter looking up. She took off her reading glasses and let them fall around her neck, closing her book before smiling warmly at them.

“Hi boys! Welcome to Cozy Ann’s. What can I get ya?” Taehyung looked around the room as Jimin walked up to the counter, smiling as warmly as he could. The room had a vintage look to it, but it was hard to tell if that was intentional or just what the lady thought looked good. Taehyung poked around at the plastic-wrapped furniture as Jimin tried to ignore him.

“Hello! You must be Ann’s daughter, I can’t believe she let a young woman like yourself run this place all on your own!” The lady laughed and waved her hand, and Jimin could feel Taehyung cringe behind him. Hey, whatever they could do to get a discount. It also helped to see how open this lady was to chatting, Jimin felt like if she was a monster she would be a little bit stiffer. Gut sense, he just hoped he could trust it.

After chatting for a few minutes, she grabbed some keys and told them to follow her to an open room. Taehyung held onto Jimin’s elbow as they walked, staring holes into the doors they walked by before they reached the fourth door. She unlocked it, handing Jimin the keys before mentioning the cafe they could get breakfast at tomorrow morning. Jimin thanked her, and she waved as she walked back to the main building.

Taehyung walked in first, walking around the room as if checking for any cameras or hidden traps. Jimin threw his backpack down near the plastic-covered chair along the far wall of the room, jumping onto the creaky bed. The odd mix of brown tones in the design of the room entertained him as Taehyung moved to the bathroom, the sound of a shower curtain opening and closing roughly.

“Find anything good?” A grunt. “What about someone hiding to jump out and kidnap us?”

Taehyung left the room, annoyed gaze locking with Jimin as he rolled around on the bed. He threw his bag onto the chair that Jimin’s was by, going back to the bathroom.

“I gotta take care of business, do you want to see how far away we are from here?” Jimin hummed as he scooted off the bed, opening his bag to pull out their trusty map. Taehyung closed the door to the bathroom, and Jimin tried to focus on the map.

After a frustrating amount of time spent using his knuckle to try and measure the distance between them at the motel to the emporium, Taehyung came out of the bathroom. Jimin felt the wet towel smack his face before he realized Tae was in front of him, hair wet from a shower. Was Jimin seriously that focused in on counting the distance that he didn’t hear the shower run?

“The soap here is shit. The water pressure is okay enough though, so I guess that makes up for it…” Taehyung went back into the bathroom, and as the sound of a hairdryer started up Jimin walked to the doorway to the small bathroom. He leaned against the frame and watched Taehyung dry his hair, looking over his shoulder at himself in the mirror. He looked rough, but honestly, when did he not. At least they had somewhere to spend the night that wasn’t either a bus stop or highway underpass. Taehyung made eye contact with Jimin, smiling slightly before focusing back on fully drying his hair.

“Does this place really freak you out? Or do you just want to get back to camp?” Taehyung hummed, now purposefully avoiding Jimin’s eyes. How cheeky. They were silent as the humming of the hairdryer continued, and Jimin walked into the bathroom to rest his head on the middle of Tae’s back. They stood silently until Taehyung deemed his hair dry, turning off the hairdryer. The only sound now was from the vent fan trying to cool down the bathroom, stuttering as if it hadn’t been running for a while.

“Yeah, it does. It makes me think…” Jimin could feel Taehyung’s breath stutter in his chest, then forcefully even back out. Jimin lifted his head from between Tae’s shoulders, pressing slightly closer to wrap his arms around his waist. “It makes me think of mom,” It’s quiet, quiet enough that Jimin could miss it if he wasn’t so focused on hearing what Taehyung was saying. “It makes me think of the end. Her end. Right before I got to camp. I…” Jimin loosened his grip as he felt Taehyung start to turn towards him, and felt tight arms around his shoulders. Pressed close to Taehyung like this, Jimin could hear his heartbeat. Its usual steady beat was now erratic, and Jimin did his best to breathe slowly to entice Tae to follow.

It was a touchy topic, Taehyung’s mom. Despite knowing him for years, Jimin really only ever heard bits and pieces about her. He didn’t want to pry, but Jimin lost track of how many times Taehyung woke up with a gasp, reaching for him and muttering apologies. His hands would be shaky, face slightly damp with tears, whispering about how he could’ve done more and _should’ve_ , and how sorry he was about it. Jimin made sure to hug him extra tight those nights, making sure he could fall asleep hearing Jimin’s own steady, present heartbeat. It was the least he could do.

“Your turn to shower stinky. I’ll look at the map, don’t worry about it.” Taehyung pulled back from the embrace, shuffling Jimin’s hair as he shifted past him. Jimin smiled slightly, nodding as Tae left the small bathroom. He closed the door behind him, and Jimin noticed that he had left a change of clothes in the bathroom for Jimin.

Taehyung was right about the soap being horrible, Jimin had to smack the tiny bottle countless times before any of it came out, and even then it was a criminally low amount of soap. The harsh shower spray felt good on his shoulders though, as aggressive as it was. By the time he was done, the entire bathroom was steamed up and Jimin even felt a little lightheaded. He pushed the door open, starting up the hairdryer.

When he was finished, he went back out to the main part of the room to see Taehyung staring at the odd art on the wall. He perked up when Jimin walked by, pulling the laid-out map onto his lap.

“Okay, so this is where we are right now. This,” quick motioning at the cluster of streets by a highway. “Is where the place should be. It looks like a straight shot off of these main streets, so we should be able to get up relatively early tomorrow and head over.” Easy enough, straight-line then a straight line. Hopefully, nothing bothered them along the way. “Bad news is we have to walk.”

Jimin looked closer at the map, standing back up straight to wave his hand. “Yeah yeah, what’s new. Thanks for looking Tae, I was struggling big time…” A quiet chuckle from both of them, then back to the almost silent room, save for the hum of the fan in the bathroom. Jimin jumped onto the bed, laying out flat next to Taehyung, who jumped slightly at the sudden movement. Jimin motioned to the remote control on the table the TV was on, smiling brightly to Taehyung. “C’mon, I’m laying down already!”

Taehyung rolled his eyes and got up, grabbing the remote and aiming for Jimin’s head. Crazy instincts helped him dodge it, punctuated by a thanks before he started the TV. By some crazy grace from above, every channel on the TV was either mind-numbing infomercials, bad reality TV, or some old movie in black and white. It was more the luxury of a TV that made everything appealing though, so Jimin was willing to suffer through some shitty TV for the night.

Some old foreign movie about an old lady falling in love with a foreign man was what ended up lulling the two of them asleep. After the first ten minutes, Jimin crawled under the covers, and it only took five minutes for Tae to join him. It was a typical subpar motel bed, but better than sleeping on some forest floor, so they both took what they could get. Closer to the halfway mark of the movie Jimin could hear Taehyung’s breathing even out and noted that this was right around when Taehyung pulled Jimin closer, legs mixing together, and within moments of this Jimin felt himself fall asleep as well.

\---

“Oh shit get up,” followed by a smack to the chest shocked Jimin awake. Taehyung was sitting upright next to him, and Jimin could feel his fight or flight kick in. He scrambled up, looking around the room to find a weapon to defend themselves from whatever monster snuck itself into the mismatched brown motel room.

“Wha-huh-wuh-Tae what is it where is it,” Jimin threw the brown comforter off, stumbling to his bag as Taehyung quickly moved to the bathroom. “Tae? Did something come out of the toilet? What’s going on?”

Taehyung stuck his head out of the bathroom, toothbrush in his mouth, and mumbled something, waving his right hand as if he was explaining theoretical physics. Jimin stared at him, hand gripping his sword and hair a mess. Taehyung rolled his eyes, poked his head into the bathroom followed by an audible spit, then he leaned back out with toothpaste around his mouth.

“We woke up late. It’s like, three.” The room seeped in silence, and Jimin considered if he could kill Taehyung and bury him in the small flower garden outside of their window. He could be great food for the little half-wilted flowers, and Jimin would be able to just partially express his anger. Taehyung raised his eyebrows in question to Jimin before leaning back into the bathroom to continue getting ready. Jimin dropped the sword, sitting down in front of the TV to use it as a mirror to flatten his hair. Tae always had a particular ‘get ready’ schedule, and Jimin was willing to accept the separation to allow himself to relax. He turned on the TV after a moment and waited as the minutes ticked by.

After a criminal amount of low-quality commercials whizzed by, all advertising products that by no means would be useful, Taehyung came back out of the bathroom. Jimin kept his focus on TV, leaning to the side of the bed to keep his clear view as Tae got his bags together. The saleswoman on the TV tried to convince Jimin that he needed a spiral vegetable cutter for his Italian cuisine dinner nights, and by then Taehyung turned around to try and apologize.

“Nope, I’m not accepting the apology.” Tae’s mouth hung open, eyes tracking Jimin as he turned off the TV and grabbed his bag. “You need to simmer in that guilt, you almost made me jump out the window and run away.” Taehyung chuckled, standing up and reached down for his own bag.

They bid farewell to the barrage of browns that was their room, and Jimin led the way back to the main building. There were still no cars outside of any of the rooms, but the light above the first door was stuck in an eternal flickering. If Jimin had a moment to spare, he would’ve thought it’d be interesting to see if it was some god trying to send a message via morse code. He was probably just too hopeful for some sort of reassurance.

The lady behind the desk was different in the main office, presumably Ann’s daughter. She barely looked up from her phone when they walked in to drop off the key, waving slightly when Jimin cleared his throat and put the key on the counter. Taehyung held the door open for Jimin as they both left, motioning across the street to a cafe. “Isn’t that where she said we should eat? Do you think they’d give a discount since we stayed here?” Jimin shrugged, looking both ways down the street before starting to cross, motioning for Tae to follow.

The building had a distinct small-town-country vibe, with exposed white brick and DIY tinted windows. There were only three cars parked in the parking lot, but Jimin figured it was because it was past lunchtime. These people were going to be old or odd-job workers, and he hoped that they could avoid them both. He reached for the door, ushering Tae in ahead of him, double-checking nothing outside was tracking them. A random pigeon landed on the sidewalk in front of him, to which he smiled and entered the building.

Inside was a bit more brightly decorated than outside, with old red seats and mismatched chairs at some of the tables. There was a counter you could sit at, where an old man was reading a large newspaper, and near the corner of the building was a family of three. They ate silently and quickly like they were running late for some event. Jimin sympathized with them. Another old man appeared behind the counter from the kitchen and walked out to meet them standing awkwardly in the doorway. He had a friendly enough smile, but Jimin could see the emptiness in his eyes. Whatever.

“Hey boys, what can I get ya? Table, booth, counter…” The man dried his hands off with a towel over his shoulder, then set his hands on his hips over his food-stained white apron. Taehyung shifted nervously between feet, and Jimin stepped forward to smile. “Hi sir, we’ll take a table. Is that okay?” The man nodded, motioning to the side of the cafe where the family was eating. Jimin nodded, grabbing Taehyung’s hand to walk together to sit down. The man watched them sit, silent for a moment until he reached into his apron to pull out a pad of paper.

“Menus are at the end of the table. Can I get you both started with drinks? Water? Coffee?” The man seemed a bit stiffer than before, but Jimin tried to ignore it and focus on their array of dishes. Array was a stretch, the menu was only one-sided, but Jimin liked to believe.

“We’ll take water, thank you. Can we give you our orders in a moment?” Jimin smiled at the man who nodded and walked away stiffly, then turned to Tae. He hadn’t looked up from the menu, reading over it carefully as if the words were going to float off the page. A minute later the man came back to drop off the water, took one look at Taehyung psychoanalyzing the menu, and went back to behind the counter to clean things.

“Tae, I can just order you what I’m getting. You’ll like it I know, you don’t have to try and figure out the menu you know…” Taehyung just hummed, looking closer for a second before dropping the menu loudly, sighing and rubbing his face.

“Sorry, sorry, just focused on it. Oh shit, you got us water. Thanks.” He grabbed one of the cups, drinking half of it in one big gulp. A quiet song played on the stereos mounted to the ceiling, and Jimin wondered if he ever would recognize any song played on the radio. Probably not, but it was always interesting to hear something that he remembered hearing Yoongi play, or hear the Apollo kids scream at a campfire sing-along.

Jimin ordered when the man came back by, looking obviously uncomfortable as Taehyung stared into his face. They probably looked like some cross-country kidnappers with children tied up in a van, and Taehyung staring into the man's soul probably didn’t help them out. He tried to bump Taehyung’s leg under the table to tell him to chill out, but all he got back was a tongue stuck out. At least he tried.

The man eventually came back out with their food, setting it down quickly. They both mumbled their thanks, grabbing their forks until the man cleared his throat. They stilled, looking up in synch at him. He looked nervous, arms crossed as if it would help him defend himself. He shifted back and forth for a moment before finally speaking.

“We don’t get… people like you two around here.” Jimin felt his stomach sink, starting to look around to see if the old man at the counter was going to turn into a werewolf or cyclops. He locked eyes with Taehyung and could sense that they were thinking the same thing. Jimin looked back up at the man, who was still shifting like he was uncomfortable.

“We usually see your kind on TV, so you’re scaring the family over there,” He motioned with a tilt of his head. “I’ll let you two eat here, but can you make it quick? This business has a reputation…” As he spoke, he avoided eye contact with either of them. Jimin tried to understand what the man was talking about, deciding to mumble a ‘yes sir’ before looking confusedly at Tae. The man left, and they both ate their food in silence. Nothing like a good ‘get out of my establishment’ to start your day, but the man accepted their money quietly and nodded as they left.

When they stepped back outside, they both stood in silence for a moment before sighing. Taehyung rubbed his face as Jimin glanced over his shoulder into the cafe at the man talking to the older man at the counter, both heads close.

“Okay, now I have no clue about that. Was it cause I held your hand?” Taehyung shrugged, swinging his backpack off his shoulder to grab the map, unfolding it to trace their route. “I bet it was because I grabbed your hand, what the hell is wrong with them, honestly…” Taehyung hummed, looking one more time at the map before putting it back in his bag.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Not like we’ll be seeing them again.” Jimin rubbed the bridge of his nose, nodding with Taehyung’s words. He was right, no use getting frustrated with some random mortals. “Let’s get going, we got some gnomes to save.”

\---

The first half an hour of walking was easy, and the second half passed uneventfully enough, but by the time they had been walking for over an hour in the hot sun, Jimin decided they needed a break. The road they were on somehow had no coverage, so by the time Jimin grabbed onto the straps on Taehyung’s bag to signal they needed a break, both of them had begun to sweat through their shirts. They walked to a small cluster of trees, which were more properly described as glorified shrubs, and sat down. Taehyung offered Jimin his half-empty water bottle, and Jimin cursed at his past self for forgetting to refill it at the motel. He probably saved them from some disgusting tasting water, but it still sucked to see them empty that bottle. He still had his own, but he hoped that they would be able to snag some more as they returned to camp.

As they sat in silence, Jimin stared down the road they had come from. It was mostly empty, a little hazy from the sun if anything. It was weird being out of camp, but more so odd to not see any spirits around. Maybe he was just worried about dying? The chance that a monster could just appear at any moment was something he kept thinking of, so he figured his brain was probably conserving energy by ignoring the spooky shadows until he made it back to camp in one piece.

“Chim? See anything down there?” Jimin turned back to Tae, watching as he fanned his face with his hand. Sitting down definitely helped them cool off, but Tae still looked like he was suffering some. Jimin shook his head, looking down the road to where the emporium potentially was. They were silent for another moment until Taehyung gasped, causing Jimin to whip his head around to look back down the street.

“What is it? Did you see something?” Taehyung just laughed.

“No, no, oh man sorry, I keep forgetting that you’re on edge out here.” Jimin pouted, turning back to Taehyung. When they get back to camp (‘If’ is how he should be thinking, but one has to be hopeful), Taehyung was going to get the silent treatment for at least a week. “I just realized we didn’t pay for the motel. We didn’t, right?”

Oh shit. They didn’t. Judging by Tae’s reaction to his shock, Jimin figured that their surprise was mutual and kind of hilarious. “Oh my god Tae, you’re right. I cannot believe it, did we seriously just walk out of there?”

Taehyung laughed loudly then, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. “You’re joking, how many years have we been at camp? Are we really that useless in society now?”

Jimin opened his bag to look for the pouch of money they had gotten for their trip, and after counting it twice he looked up at Tae, face guilty. “Oh man, we definitely did not pay. Do you think it was the girl? She just waved us through when we left, was she supposed to stop us?”

“What could she have done? ‘Hey, you two guys with big and unsettling camping bags, stop! My twenty dollars!’?” Taehyung bent over, still laughing as Jimin packed his bag back up. As hilarious as it was, Jimin felt almost like they needed to go back and pay the lady. It wasn’t her fault they were completely unsocialized, and it shouldn’t have cost her. Granted, twenty dollars isn’t a ton, but still. It’s the thought, right?

They sat in the shade for a few more moments, enjoying the slight breeze that had begun to pick up. Jimin stood up first, reaching down to offer Taehyung a hand up. They both grabbed their bags, looking down the road once again to see if they were as close as they anticipated.

“It’s hard to see, but where the road goes right up there, we can go left down a dirt driveway to the place,” Taehyung pointed down the street, Jimin shielding the sun from his eyes as he looked down the bright road. It didn’t look too far away, but far enough that they still had some walking to do. Jimin reached up to stretch, turning to stretch his back as well as he could with a backpack on, and froze.

About fifty yards away, through a collection of trees that they had walked by only ten minutes ago, walked a large dragon-looking monster. It didn’t have any wings, but was long and scaly with smoke curling out of its nostrils. Jimin stiffened instantly, reaching back to grab onto Taehyung as the monster turned its large head to face them.

As Jimin’s hand connected with Taehyung’s arm, the monster surged towards them. The next few moments were a blur as Taehyung grabbed his wrist, instantly taking off in the direction of the emporium. Jimin stumbled for a moment, turning fully and sprinted behind Taehyung as the monster’s claws tore into the dirt on the side of the road. His bag was bouncing uncomfortably on his back, but Jimin would much rather take that discomfort than deal with that creature.

With his free hand, he tried patting around the outside of his bag for his sword, fingers brushing it multiple times but never able to get a grip on it to pull it out. He lurched forward as Taehyung stumbled over a crack in the cement, both of them cursing loud. They turned harshly towards the building, and Jimin sent a prayer up to whoever was watching them get toyed with that this building really was abandoned.

They kicked open the dirty glass doors, a loud bang as the shelves on the sides were hit. Both Taehyung and Jimin bounced from leg to leg as they looked for a good place to hide, darting together towards an open arch to a room full of garden statues.

If they weren’t being chased down by a bloodthirsty monster, Jimin thought it would be nice to look around this room. The statues all were in varying poses of action, and as they ran they both had to duck under outstretched hands or stone weapons that were sticking out. Whoever made these had serious talent, it was a shame these were all left to gather dust.

They ducked behind a pillar, both crouching and breathing quick. They tried to quiet their breath, but it was difficult after sprinting like they had to. After a moment, Jimin coughed and tried to clear his throat, listening for the monster.

“Chim, what the fuck is that,” Taehyung had paled an impressive amount, and he could practically blend in with the statues around them. “Seriously. I’ve never heard of that shit, what is it-”

They could hear the doors break down at the entrance, both of them cursing quickly as they sunk lower behind the pillar.

“Okay, okay, plan time. We need a plan. Do you think we can take that thing?” It didn’t seem possible, but Taehyung managed to pale even more. “At least not head-on, then. Shit, what can we-”

They both froze as something fell, stone crashing against stone as the monster let out a mix between a growl and yelp. They held their breath silently as they could hear the monster struggle under the marble, eventually clearing it off and continuing to prowl. Jimin looked away to look down the path of statues, looking back to Taehyung after a moment.

They both knew the plan, somehow, at that moment. Taehyung grabbed Jimins’ hand, squeezing it tight before grabbing his sword from his bag, continuing to run down the route they had started on. Jimin smiled slightly as he watched Taehyung go, reaching for his own sword, and attempted to remember the layout of the statues from when they ran in.

The monster growled and pushed against a statue, but clearly thought better of it out of fear of getting crushed again. Jimin peered around the corner to watch the monster turn its attention to the direction Tae ran, and Jimin got up quickly to trail after it. Luckily, the monster decided to follow the path between the statues as well, smoke trailing above its head like a train.

Jimin ran as quietly as he could to behind the beast, weaving in between statues on the side as it got closer and closer to the wall, and closer to Taehyung as well. Jimin spotted his dark head behind the statue of a man with a spear, free arm outstretched as if calling for reinforcements. Jimin watched the monster, then noticed another statue across the path. It was shorter, a young satyr with small horns, with its arms and leg raised in a style that screamed ‘I know kung-fu from watching movies’.

Jimin dropped his bag as quickly as he could behind the statue, bracing his shoulder on it as the monster began to try and turn around at the wall. He could see Taehyung’s head peek around the corner of the other statue, and after taking a deep breath in, Jimin pushed.

The statue was heavier than he expected, but after a second shove, the statue began to fall. The monster, half turned around in the small path, made a growling sound, head snaking up towards Jimin’s direction. As the satyr statue fell on the monster’s front legs, it ducked its head to form a horrifying churning sound, smoke puffing out of its face in a large cloud. Immediately after, the statue Taehyung pushed fell forward, the free arm of the statue breaking on the head of the monster. It made more of a screaming sound, and Jimin ran to the next statue to pin the back of the monster down.

The large cyclops statue needed both him and Taehyung to push it over, and Jimin yelled for help. The monster made a chuffing sound as Taehyung ran over, both of them pushing on its legs to make it fall and crash apart.

Jimin ran to the front of the monster, hands tight around his sword as if it would stop his shaking. He closed his eyes tight as he raised his sword above his head, driving it down quickly into the monster’s forehead. The whole monster vaporized, the smoke from its head-turning into an odd yellow powder, and the smell of sulfur filled the room. Jimin finally opened his eyes, sword stuck in the dirt where the monster was a moment ago and looked up for Taehyung.

Taehyung was flat against the wall, leaning against it for support as they both caught their breath. The emporium was silent except for their ragged breathing, and Jimin had to compose himself before he accidentally burst out crying. He pried his fingers off his sword, bending over to rest his hands on his knees. After a shaky inhale, he looked up and smiled at Tae. They did it, they survived. Holy shit.

The silence was broken in the emporium as Jimin felt his blood run cold. He locked eyes with Taehyung, who looked at him quizzically and saw movement out of the corner of his eye, between the statues that survived their attack.

It moved stiffly, like an animatronic that had only recently been booted back up. One arm had more free movement than the other, which entirely marbled and stuck in an outreaching motion. Most of its torso was marble too, shirt the same color as skin. Bits of its neck still looked… human, Jimin guessed, and more of its face than Jimin remembered was stone now. Jimin didn’t realize it, but he had fallen down, frozen in fear as Taehyung yelled for him.

“Jimin what the fuck is that? Where did it come from?” Taehyung was still against the wall, looking around rapidly for his sword. Jimin struggled to get up as the statue began to move towards him. When it started to move it was faster than Jimin anticipated, just clumsy over its own limbs. It stumbled and swayed, but clearly was moving to Jimin.

“Tae get out of here! Go!” Jimin turned to run, trying to ignore Taehyung’s shouts. What are the odds that his nightmare was here? Is nightmare even accurate? His prophecy? Destiny? Was this the thing they wanted them to save? It moved like a drunk man, unbalanced but clearly with intent to kill. How were they supposed to tie this thing down and bring it back? Could they even carry it? Could it understand them?

Jimin caught himself before he ran into a statue, a woman beginning to cover her face. The statue behind him was closer than he realized, and when Jimin listened closely it was making the same grinding sound that it did in his dream. It was getting louder and louder, and the sound of stone hitting stone rang out as it hit a vase, knocking it over loudly.

Okay, nevermind, no more time to think. Jimin had to get this thing away from Taehyung, even if it killed him. Drastic level to jump to, but Jimin was not going to let some scary cursed statue be the reason both of them didn’t leave. He checked over his shoulder for the statue, beginning to run again when he saw it now had both hands reaching out. It was horrifying seeing one arm completely stone reach for him, but almost worse seeing an arm a mix of stone and skin motion for him to stop running. He tried to focus on retracing his steps to lead the statue outside, it’d be easier to deal with in the open than-

Well fuck. A dead end. Jimin froze when he saw the wall, palms smacking the wall as he turned around quickly. The statue wasn’t right behind him, but rather slowly limping closer. Its face cracked as its features contorted, and skin was almost visible under the cracks until they quickly resealed, practically magic. Jimin’s breath sped up as he looked around for something to use as a weapon, but with how erratically it moved, Jimin wasn’t sure he could land a hit. He was fucked. Like, actually, officially, end of the line screwed. If it wasn’t terrifying, it’d be embarrassing. Kill the beast, get murdered by an angry mannequin.

The statue slowed down until it stopped completely, going quiet as its non-marbleized arm lowered to its pants. Jimin watched as the hand felt around for a pocket, pushing aggressively in before grabbing something, and pulling it out for Jimin. It reached back for him, hand stiffly falling open as stone cracked around its joints.

A necklace fell down, caught on its fingers so it ended up dangling. The light coming in from the windows caught on the charm, gold shining. It was a sun, hanging off a camp necklace. Jimin froze, suddenly remembering with a sickening feeling in his stomach that Hoseok had a charm on his necklace too, the only other person Jimin ever saw with it. The statue, seeming to sense his realization, tried to say something, then stomped its foot in frustration when all that came out was grinding stone.

Jimin slowly peeled himself off the wall, reaching out slowly as the statue offered him its necklace. It dropped it in Jimin’s hand and took a step back, letting Jimin inspect it. Jimin didn’t have any of the beads himself, but he recognized a few of them off of Yoongi’s necklace. He looked back up at the statue, who shifted from foot to foot as if trying to figure out what to say. Jimin reached out with his free hand, and the statue offered its non-petrified one.

He didn’t suddenly gain the ability to understand or speak to the statue but could feel a soul within that statue that didn’t belong. Even the parts that seemed like human skin were cold like stone, and Jimin could only imagine what it would be like to be trapped within a body, freezing with time. Its cry from his dream to help it echoed within his head as he gripped the hand with both of his own, necklace tight within his palm.

Jimin never had a feeling, per se, when he was able to do this, but he simply just tried. The ghosts around camp never really wanted to leave, despite their cries, and they never wanted to stay still long enough to try. But this soul, this statute, this camper that Jimin was convinced Hoseok and Yoongi knew, he wanted to. He wanted to leave, he was tired of being here. He couldn’t get home, couldn’t see anyone, and was trapped within a world that only wanted to see him suffer.

Jimin closed his eyes tightly, reaching within to whatever could help him help the statue, and prayed a little. He wasn’t sure who he prayed to, if it was his dad, who had been silent for years. Maybe his mom, who would know what to do with a soul so weak and vulnerable. Maybe it was to fate, who was already so cruel to someone who deserved peace.

Whoever decided to listen, as Jimin liked to think of it as, listened well. The statue stiffened slightly, and then through the sudden silence within the emporium, Jimin could hear a quiet exhale. It was peaceful.

\---

As the statue broke apart and collapsed in front of him, the last bits of identifiable human quickly marbelizing over, Taehyung ran into view. Jimin’s ears were ringing, but he could see Taehyung scream at him, sprinting forward to knock him away from the statue as it fully disintegrated. Jimin felt the cool marble slip from his hands as Taehyung rammed into him, right into the ground. Tae patted his face to check for injury as Jimin felt the breath slowly re-enter his lungs, his body almost frozen as well. He blinked slowly, ringing slowly fading as the sound of Taehyung crying got louder, then realized he was crying as well.

“Jimin what the fuck! Where’d you go? You ran off, and I ran after you to get you, but you weren’t in here! What the fuck was that?” Taehyung pulled Jimin up so they were both sitting, gripping Jimin in a tight hug. From over Tae’s shoulder, Jimin could see the pile of marble left by the statue slowly sink into the earth, disintegrating slowly. A breeze rolled in, blowing some of the dust left away from the pile of rubble.

Jimin inhaled shakily, slowly reaching around Taehyung’s body to reciprocate the hug. “Tae-Tae, listen, Tae, I-” he inhaled quickly, realizing he wasn’t breathing. “I’m okay, we’re okay, we’re fine, you’re crushing me,”

They both stayed there, tight in each other’s embrace. The sun continued to heat the windowed room, statues surrounding them as they realized for the unknown time how lucky they both were.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to reach out!
> 
> twitter; @accki_  
> tumblr; lilumqueen  
>    
> art by @v4mpkin on insta & twt!! (go give em some love~)
> 
> me: i haven't read anything percy jackson related in over 6 years  
> also me: so imagine this percy jackson bts au right


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